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Weapons of the Salvadoran Civil War

The Salvadoran Civil War was a military conflict of the Cold War that pitted the guerrilla forces of the left-wing Marxist-oriented Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) against the armed and security forces loyal to the military-led conservative government of El Salvador, between 1979 and 1992. The main combatants were as follows:

An eclectic variety of weapons was used by both sides in the Salvadoran Civil War. The Armed Forces of El Salvador were equipped with Western-made weapons, mainly American and Israeli in origin, but also included Argentine, Portuguese, French, West German, Yugoslavian and Taiwanese military hardware. During the early phase of the war, the FMLN likewise were largely equipped with Western arms and munitions, though as the war went on, Eastern Bloc weaponry began to play a major role.

Armed Forces of El Salvador equipment

Small arms

Pistols

Battle and assault rifles

  • Heckler & Koch G3: Originally the standard service rifle of the Salvadoran Army before being replaced by the M-16A1/A2. The first G3s were of West German origin; however, when the U.S. began increasing small arms deliveries to El Salvador, they purchased surplus rifles from Portugal and gave them as military aid.
  • M16A1/A2: The M16A1/A2 was initially issued to elite units before being issued to the rest of the army when it became the standard rifle. The first large-scale delivery occurred in 1981 with 11,868 units delivered. A total of 32,374 M16A1/A2 rifles were delivered between 1980 and 1993. The U.S. began to replace the G3 rifles in the hands of the Salvadorian Army in 1981 with the delivery of 11,868 AR-15A1 R613 (M16A1); followed by another 20,743 M16s purchased with FMS funds for El Salvador in 1982. Many of these "new" rifles were actually leftovers from Vietnam. Eventually, another 45,160 AR-15A1 R613 followed, to include more than 500 CAR-15A1 R639 (XM177E2 Commando – typified as M16A2 for El Salvador) to equip the Mechanized Infantry and officer Corps and hundreds of CAR-15A1 R653 (M16A1) Carbines starting in 1985, and even brand-new M16s supplied by Springfield Armory.
  • CAR-15: Colt Automatic Rifle-15 Military Weapons System or CAR-15. The CAR-15: Colt Automatic Rifle-15 Military Weapons System or CAR-15 was delivered to all military branches of the Armed Forces of El Salvador and was also used with attached M203 grenade launchers.
  • Colt Commando (model 733, note M16A2-style brass deflector and forward assist), the USA military aid to El Salvador included the supply of this Car-15 variant that was used extensively by the Armed Forces of El Salvador. They also were used with attached M203 grenade launchers. The (BIRI) used this variant with the M203 attached.
  • IMI Galil
  • Heckler & Koch HK33
  • T65 assault rifle: Taiwan had extensive diplomatic and military ties with El Salvador. Before and during the civil war, the Republic of China (Taiwan) sold weaponry including the T65 to the former Salvadoran security forces. Taiwan also trained Salvadoran military officers in the civil war; even after the end of the war, Taiwan had continued to give military advice and training to its diplomatic allies including El Salvador until 2018.

Carbines and semi-automatic rifles

Sniper rifles

Submachine guns

Machine guns

Grenade systems

Land mine systems

Anti-tank rocket and grenade launchers

Mortars

Recoilless rifles

Artillery

Anti-aircraft weapons

Vehicles

Helicopters

Aircraft

Naval craft

  • CG 40ft-type patrol launch
  • Camcraft-type small patrol boat
  • US Protector-class patrol boat
  • US 65ft Commercial Cruiser-class patrol boat
  • US Swiftships 65ft class patrol boat
  • US Swiftships 77ft class patrol boat
  • US Point-class cutter/patrol boat
  • US Balsam-class navigation aids tender (served as flagship for the Salvadoran Navy and offshore patrol vessel)
  • LCM-6 Landing Craft Utility (LCU)
  • LCM-8 Landing Craft Utility (LCU)

FMLN equipment

Small arms

Pistols

Battle and assault rifles

Carbines and semi-automatic rifles

Sniper rifles

Submachine guns

Machine guns

Grenade systems

Explosive devices

Land mine systems

  • "Fan mine" (Spanish: mina abanico): home-made anti-personnel mine, similar in design to the M18 Claymore.
  • "Clothespin mine" (Spanish: mina de chuchitos): home-made anti-personnel mine.
  • "Foot remover mine" (Spanish: mina de pateos or quita pata): home-made anti-personnel mine.

Anti-tank rocket and grenade launchers

Recoilless rifles

Anti-aircraft weapons

See also

Notes

References

  • Carlos Caballero Jurado & Nigel Thomas, Central American Wars 1959–89, Men-at-Arms series 221, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1990.
  • Charles Maisonneuve, AML Panhard – Des hommes, une histoire, Collection Vehicules Militaires, Histoire & Collections, Paris 2020. (in French)
  • David François, El Salvador – Volume 1: Crisis, Coup and Uprising 1970-1983, Latin America@War Volume 32, Helion & Company Limited, Warwick UK 2023.
  • David François, El Salvador – Volume 2: Conflagration 1984-1992, Latin America@War Volume 34, Helion & Company Limited, Warwick UK 2023.
  • David Spencer, Armoured Fighting Vehicles of El Salvador, Museum Ordnance Special Number 7 – English Edition, Darlington Productions, Inc., Mass Market Paperback, 1995.
  • Daniel Moran, Wars of National Liberation, Smithsonian History of Warfare series, Harper Paperbacks, 2006.
  • Jane Haapiseva-Hunter, Israeli foreign policy: South Africa and Central America, South End Press, 1999.
  • John Pimlott (ed.), Guerrilla Warfare, Bison Books Ltd., London 1985.
  • Julio Montes, Mexican and Central American Armor, Darlington Productions, Inc., 2001.
  • Simon Dunstan, Panhard Armoured Car: 1961 Onwards (AML 60, AML 90, Eland), Enthusiasts' Manual, Haynes Publishing UK, Somerset 2019.
  • Physicians for Human Rights (U.S.), Landmines: A Deadly Legacy, The Arms Project, Human Rights Watch, New York – Washington – Los Angeles – London 1993.

Secondary sources

  • A. J. Pelletier, Beech Aircraft and their Predecessors, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland US, 1995.
  • Bill Gunston, An Illustrated Guide to Military Helicopters, Salamander Books Ltd, London 1981.
  • Bob Cashner, The FN FAL Battle Rifle, Weapon series 27, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2013.
  • Chris McNab, The SVD Dragunov Rifle, Weapon series 87, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2023.
  • Christopher F. Foss, Jane's Tank & Combat Vehicle recognition guide, HarperCollins Publishers, London 2002.
  • Daniel P. Hagedorn, Central American and Caribbean Air Forces, Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., Tonbridge, Kent UK 1993.
  • Gordon L. Rottman, The Rocket-propelled Grenade, Weapon series 2, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2010.
  • Gordon L. Rottman, The AK-47 Kalashnikov-series assault rifles, Weapon series 8, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2011.
  • Gordon L. Rottman, US Grenade Launchers – M79, M203, and M320, Weapon series 57, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2017.
  • Kevin Dockery, The M60 machine gun, Weapon series 20, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2012.
  • Leroy Thompson, The G3 Battle Rifle, Weapon series 68, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2019.
  • Joseph E. Smith (ed.) & W. H. B. Smith, Small Arms of the World: a basic manual of Small Arms, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 1969 (9th Revised edition). – https://archive.org/details/smallarmsofworld00smit
  • Simon D. Beck, "Database: Fairchild C-123 Provider", Aeroplane, February 2022, Vol. 50, No. 2, pp. 115-131.
  • Terry Love, Don Greer and Joe Sewell, A-37/T-37 Dragonfly in action, Aircraft Number 114, Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., Carrollton, Texas 1991.
  • Tony Eastwood & John Roach, Piston Engine Airliner Production List, The Aviation Hobby Shop, London 1991.
  • Michael Taylor, Encyclopedia of Modern Military Aircraft, Gallery Books, 1987.
  • Paul F. Hatch, "World Air Forces 1988" , Flight International, 3 December 1988, volume 134, issue 4142, pp. 22–87.

External links